Kyle Jamieson takes down Pakistan's top order with 3 wickets in 11 balls in 1st T20I against Babar Azam-less team

Pakistan's attempt to move on from a disastrous Champions Trophy campaign, which saw them crash out in the group stage of the home tournament, got off to a rocky start. In the first match of the T20I series against New Zealand on Sunday at the Hagley Oval in Christchurch, fast bowler Kyle Jamieson wreaked havoc on the Pakistan batting order by taking three wickets in the powerplay, leaving them in disarray.

Put to bat first, Pakistan, who were without seasoned campaigners Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan, Jamieson drew first blood with the new ball, dismissing opener Mohammad Haris on the final ball of the first over. It was wicket-maiden for the right-arm pacer.

After Jacob Duffy took care of another opener, Hasan Nawaz, in the following over, Jamieson returned to dismiss Irfan Khan for just one run off six balls, leaving Pakistan at 3 for three in the third over. In his final over with the new ball, Jamieson got rid of Shadab Khan, courtesy of a Glenn Phillips-like catch from Tim Robinson behind square. Pakistan, hence, ended their powerplay at 14 for 4.

Why did Pakistan drop Babar, Rizwan?

Both Babar and Rizwan faced the axe after a disappointing Champions Trophy campaign as selectors dropped the two senior batters for the T20I series against New Zealand.

Explaining the reason behind the move, Pakistan’s interim head coach and national selector Aaqib Javed said that the call was taken to try out a new approach and develop a new mindset among the players for modern-day T20 cricket.

"If you look at other teams, most of them have 70 per cent separate T20 squads, and we are also working on that before the Asia Cup and World T20 Cup. We need our players to play fearless cricket,” he had told the media in Lahore.

However, both batters were retained for the ODI series against the Black Caps, who finished as runners-up in the Champions Trophy. The 50-over contest will begin on March 29, following the end of the five-match T20I series.

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